Our apothecary is finally up and running, and along with learning the art of making potent herbal skin care salves, I also discovered how crucial skin health is to our overall full body health.
As the body’s largest organ, our skin significantly impacts overall health and wellness by acting as a protective barrier against environmental threats, regulating body temperature, producing Vitamin D, and by providing us with a sense of touch for our bodies own safety.
Moreover our wonderful skin serves as an indicator of our potential internal health issues through visible external changes; so healthy looking skin shows it’s doing it’s job as our first line of defense in the bodies immune system by preventing infections and invasive disease.
Conversely, compromised skin can show various health concerns depending on the underlying cause and what’s actually being presented on our skins surface.
Recent research has confirmed our skin is both an immediate stress perceiver and is a key indicator of stress responses. Again, as the largest organ of the body, skin plays important barrier and immune functions, maintaining homeostasis between external environment and internal tissues.
Here are the common 5 things most people know about how skin affects our overall health as the body’s interface with the outside world:
1) The skin’s primary function is to shield the body from harmful bacteria, viruses, chemicals, and environmental stressors, acting as the first line of defense against potential infections.
2) Vitamin D synthesis.
When exposed to sunlight, the skin produces Vitamin D, crucial for bone health and calcium absorption.
3) Thermoregulation.
Sweat glands in the skin help regulate body temperature by releasing moisture when the body overheats.
4) Sensory perception.
Nerves in the skin enable the sense of touch, allowing us to perceive pressure, temperature, and texture.
5) Immune system function.
A healthy skin barrier contributes to a robust immune system by preventing pathogens from entering the body.
But did you know our skins physiology also has much to do with our mental and emotional optimal health as well? The most amazing thing I have learned as I was creating my specialty salves was that the health of our skin, gut, and mind are all intricately connected in a complex system known as the gut-skin-brain axis.
The gut-skin-brain axis is a type of consciousness that states the health of your gut can impact your skin, and your skin can reflect the health of your gut, leading back to the brain as stress signals if something is amiss.
For me there is no question overall skin health significantly impacts a person’s body and mind consciousness. It’s so much more than mere ‘vanity’ to want and need to keep your skin as healthy and vibrant as possible.
Healthy skin can contribute to positive self-esteem and body image, while skin conditions like acne, eczema, or psoriasis can negatively affect self-perception, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, and social withdrawal.
When viewed in the healing dynamic such as the gut-skin-brain axis, using preventative organic salves and creams aids anyone in avoiding the breakdown of skin tissues as we age, and can slow down or even stop a negative cycle where stressors from both the environmental and internal toxins (from bad food or other life style dis-ease) can lead to a vicious cycle of poor physical and emotional reactivity produced by outside, negative stress.
I have recently learned first hand, neglected skin care can further exacerbate skin related poor health issues; because essentially, the skin acts as a visible manifestation of internal well-being, influencing how someone feels about themselves, how well they bounce back from illness and how they interact with the world around them.
Adding a quality skin care regimen daily that uses only natural, proven ingredients, (and is harvested sustainably) can add years of quality to our lives on a physical and emotional level. It’s not hard to include your skin care within each day if you do it at the same time you do your teeth; and those few extra minutes will really pay off in no time!
To maintain healthy skin, I’ll share below some simple tips to implement in your daily life. -The following suggestions are truly very easy and very much common sense, mindful wellness habits:
1) using sun protection.
2) Drink plenty of pure water to maintain skin moisture from the inside, and eat a balanced diet full of nutritious ingredients rich in vitamins and antioxidants that support skin health.
3) Cleanse your skin with soap that is the appropriate Ph for your skin type and that is made from all natural and organic ingredients.
4) Moisturize your skin daily, applying a organic and natural moisturizer to maintain skin hydration.
Finally, if your skin has poor color, unusual texture or growths, be sure to consult a dermatologist for advice, diagnosis, and treatment.
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